Quesnel River Research Centre

QRRC Data Support

The task of finding contextual data to support research is sometimes time-consuming, so we have put together what we hope will be a useful selection of links relating to the Quesnel River Basin (QRB). If you are seeking other data, please ask us. The page describing the characteristics of the Quesnel watershed also provides a series of maps illustrating the basin's attributes.

Please note that this is an information service only: no claims are made as to the current status or fitness for purpose of any dataset. All links are live as of March 2017.

Another option is the HydroSheds DEM, distributed by the USGS. This includes a range of useful products based on the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) at 3 arc-second spatial resolution (approximately 56 m at the QRRC's latitude of ~52.6°N). Tile N50W125 contains the QRB. A topographic map of the QRB generated using this dataset is available for download here.

The Canadian Digital Elevation Model and Canadian Digital Surface Model are also available through GeoGratis.

Hydrological Data

The BC Freshwater Atlas provides a variety of spatial data describing watersheds, lakes, rivers, wetlands and other features. ShapeFiles are available for direct download here.

Data-files for these, and also for inactive gauges, are available for download from the ECCC-WSC data-products page, as is the complete HYDAT database.

The Cariboo Water Tool provides a map of the gauges, with links to various options for hydrometric reporting.

A list of all active and inactive gauges in the QRB, including their locations and periods of record, is available in comma-separated format here: QRB Gauges (please note that a 'YEAR_TO' value of 2017 corresponds to gauges active as of March 2017).

Land-Cover / Ecology

A variety of 'snapshot' spatial datasets describing vegetation and ecological zones is available, as well as products based on the MODIS satellite-borne sensors. We are able to help with sourcing clipped extents of these products covering the QRB.

Details of the provincial Vegetation Resource Inventory (VRI) are posted here and here, and the full GeoDatabase (3.9 Gb) is available for download here.

The 2010 release of the North American Land-Cover (NALC) is available in raster format at 250 m spatial resolution from the Commission for Environmental Co-operation. A map of classes represented in the QRB is available here.

Limnology / Water Quality

The QRRC has been taking regular conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) observations at a series of locations in Quesnel Lake and some other water bodies for several years. While these data are somewhat sensitive, as they form the inputs for current active research related to the 2014 breach of the tailings pond at the Mount Polley Mine, it may be possible to arrange access to them on agreement of appropriate conditions.

Other related measurements include a range of aquatic and sedimentological metrics taken from the Quesnel River by a variety of methods, including sondes and manual sampling.

NTS Maps

Traditional 1:50,000 and 1:250,000 scale maps are available as individual tiles in PDF and raster format from the Natural Resources of Canada CanMatrix server and GeoGratis.

Vector datasets representing the various components represented on NTS maps are available here.

The image below shows the 1:50k and 1:250k sheets covering the QRB.

Remotely-Sensed (Satellite) Imagery

Imagery from sensors on the Landsat series is available from the USGS EarthExplorer site. The QRB is most often to be found in tiles identified by path 46, 47 or 48, and row 23 or 24. The false-colour image below shows a view from the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat8 taken on 19th August 2016. The QRRC is shown as a yellow and green diamond, near the outlet (western end) of Quesnel Lake.

Sub-Surface: Soils / Geology

The QRB spans four of the fundamental units of BC's deep structural geology - the Cariboo (Cassiar), Kootenay, Quesnellia and Cache Creek terranes. A spatial dataset defining these is available for download from the BC Ministry of Energy and Mines, here.

The BC Geological Survey's comprehensive spatial dataset of solid geology, together with major faults and surficial deposits, is also available for download from their web-site. The page with more detail specific to the QRB is here.

An excerpt map of the QRB's geology, depicting era and principal rock type, is available for download here. A list of all distinct geological units found in the QRB, together with brief descriptions, is also available for download in Excel and Adobe Acrobat formats.

Details of the BC Soils Information System are posted here, together with a link to the full spatial dataset.